In a sign that either the PlayStation 3 version of Assassin's Creed Revelations needs more public beta testing than the Xbox 360 version or that Sony and AC publisher Ubisoft are—gasp—using a beta as a marketing stunt, the Assassin's Creed: Revelations multiplayer beta will launch next month only on PS3, initially to a subset of PS3 owners.
Only those with a paying PlayStation Plus or non-paying Ubisoft Uplay account will be able to test the beta starting September 3 before it expands to all PS3 users on the 12th. No beta for the Xbox 360 or PC versions, which launch alongside the PS3 version on November 15 have been announced.
The beta, Ubi's announcement indicates, includes subsets of Revelations's full multiplayer offering, providing, for now, just nine characters (The Sentinel, The Vanguard, The Guardian, The Vizier, The Thespian, The Deacon, The Bombardier, The Trickster and The Champion), three maps (Knight's Hospital, Antioch, Constantinople) and four modes (Wanted, Manhunt, Deathmatch, and Artifact Assault).
Multiplayer was introduced to the Assassin's Creed series last year. It played differently than the average competitive mass-market game, making each player a secret assassination target of another amid crowds of innocent computer-controlled civilians. The game rewarded patience and stealth, though the entire experience was framed in a similar progressive rewards and unlocks structure popularized in the more agressive Call of Dutys. The expanded multiplayer in Revelations will include stronger defense options for people who are under assassination attack, a revamped interface and expanded friend-networking options, among other things.